Chapter 13

Olympus, third POV

Artemis had teleported Percy and herself to the elevators that connected the mortal world and Olympus together, she could've brought them straight to the throne room, but she wanted to hear about the wolf that Perseus had. She beliveved he named her Zoë. "Perseus, where did you find that wolf? They usually don't grow to be that large - a female no less. And how did you tame it?"

"I found her during my second month in the Yellowstone National Park while skinning an elk; she had snuck up behind me and looked hungry, so I threw her some of the meat. She ate it quickly and I held another piece in my hand, and she came and ate that. Since then she's been my constant companion, staying with me through thick and thin - from harsh winters to scorching summers. As for why she's so big I have no idea. Maybe the fates decided they were sorry for being complete assholes to me my entire life and she was their apology. I've never really questioned it, and I've never really cared, I only knew to count my blessings- thanks for that by the way."

Artemis nodded, satisfied with his answers, but something still bugged her, "Why name her Zoë?" Percy smiled at the question, "The name was a perfect fit." he replied simply. At Artemis' questioning look he continued, "She's strong, beautiful, and can rip your throat out in a blink of an eye, all while having a soft side few get to know. Besides the fur color and eyes have an uncanny resemblance." Artemis smiled at the description of her huntress, it really did describe her perfectly. Artemis looked like she wanted question him more but they had reached the throne room doors. They walked in wordlessly, only to find Hestia and Zeus sitting there, chatting aimlessly, giving Percy some serious deja vu.

"Ah my daughter, what brings you here," Zeus turned his gaze to Perseus, "and who is this?"

Percy made a look of mock hurt, "Ouch Zeusie, that really hurt, I felt that right here," he pointed to his heart, "a man tries to kill you for most of your life, then forgets your face after not seeing him for a few years." Percy was barely able to hide his laughter at seeing Zeus' utterly confused face, Hestia and Artemis however weren't as lucky. Artemis, who was barely able to stifle her laughter said, "Father may you summon the council? I believe Poseidon would like to hear what his long lost son has to say."

Percy looked annoyed, "Why did you give it away? I wanted it to be a surprise; maybe douse a god or two with water in the process." Zeus let out a long laugh, "Ah young Perseus, it is good to see you back again, your maddening sarcasm retained no less. Fear not, your secret is safe with me, drama is my specialty." As he finished talking, he summoned his master bolt and threw it into the air, causing lighting to dance across the sky. The sound that followed echoed throughout the world, acting as a summons for the council members.

Soon, one after another, the rest of the council flashed in, most of them giving questioning glances to the camouflage clad man sitting by the hearth. Some of them did a double take at the golden pelt that layed across his back, recognizing it as the pelt of the Nemean Lion. Poseidon flashed in last, trident in hand, not sparing the man in center of the room a second glance. It took most of Percy's willpower to not get up and hug his father right then and there, but he held himself back, dramatics come first.

After Poseidon sat down, Zeus threw his master bolt into the air once more. "I call this council meeting to a start. I believe our guest would like to introduce himself" Percy just smiled and summoned water out of the air and started shaping it, the gods watched on in amazement as the water started making writing in cursive. When Percy was finished the water spelled Percy Jackson with an arrow pointing to himself. "Ta-Da! How hav- Oomph" Percy was cut off by a teary eyed Poseidon ,who crushed him in a hug that could give Tyson's a run for his money, apparently that specific ability was hereditary. "I've missed you so much my son, the sea has been quiet in your absence." Percy returned the hug with just as much fervor, he had missed his father immensely, but couldn't talk to him without being ripped out of what had been the greatest years of his life.

Most of the gods watched the exchange with a small smile on their faces, it had been a while since Poseidon had been so happy. It had seemed that when Percy left, he took the Sea God's carefree and relaxed attitude with him. The only gods that didn't watch the scene with elated expressions were Dionysus and Ares- for reasons that were obvious enough. Even Athena was happy for the two, she had accepted Poseidon's curse as punishment for her and her daughter's actions, and actually felt genuinely sorry for her long time rival.

"While I am sorry for the interrupting this reunion, we have pressing matters to attend to." As Poseidon nodded and went back to his throne, Zeus turned his attention to Percy, who had a huge smile plastered across his face. "But first, I believe we all would like to know what happened during your time away Perseus, so if you would."

"Well you better get comfortable because this will take a while." At this, all of the gods summoned a variety of pillows, blankets and cushions. When Percy saw they were all ready he continued, "Well after I left the camp, I set off to the Yellowstone National Park, it was a large place where I could survive by myself without anyone knowing. During my time there, I had transformed my body into a weapon through excruciating training regimes set up to push my body past its limits. While there I had to survive through some of the harshest conditions with nothing more than the clothes on my back and my skills and intellect.

"Before any of this happened, I had received Artemis' blessing - at Zeus' order most likely. It had saved me countless times, giving me knowledge on how to survive off the land and everything I would need to know about living in the wilderness. During October of my first year I had found my only companion - Zoë - a wolf who would serve to be my only friend and company throughout all these years. I was completely alone in Yellowstone, there was just me, Zoë and the constant hordes of monsters that were attracted to my ever growing scent. For nearly four years that was my way of life: training, killing and enjoying my solitude. My life stayed that way until there was no skills left to improve, no muscles to condition, and no monsters daring to challenge me.

"I had been wandering around the country, enjoying the sights and tranquility of my isolation. I likely would've stayed like this for the rest of my partially immortal life if I wasn't being forced into this world once more; forced into a war I don't want to fight. Until I left Camp Halfblood, I had been living a never ending war, fighting day to day against insurmountable odds; facing down armies; seeing people look up to me to be their leader, to save them, only to die from the never ending wave of enemies, and completing impossible tasks, just because the gods had asked for it. And now, Ouranos has targeted me, sending his legions of monsters at me while he wakes. When he awakens he will attempt to take back his undisputed rule over the world, and I will be there, honor bound to defend your reign."

As Percy was finishing his speech, the gods looked at him with varying levels of pity and guilt. They had always thought Perseus to be unstoppable, unwavering, and unbeatable; they never considered how he might've felt about it, or the psychological toll it took on his brain. Zeus was the first to break the silence, "Thank you Perseus, now there's what we need to do in order to prepare for the threat."

"I vote that we combine the two camps into one for the duration of the war, if we station them at camp halfblood, they'll be in a better position to defend Olympus." Athena said. Zeus looked around the room, "All in favor?" The gods raised their hands in a unanimous vote "The vote is passed then. Onto the next matter. Perseus, what will you do?"

Percy mulled his answer over for a few seconds, "I would hope to stay in the wild, roaming the country side and hunting down monsters until the war officially starts." Zeus thought about his answer for a few minutes, until he finally came to a conclusion, "You say you wish to roam around the country and hunt down Ouranos' army, but therein lays the problem of where you will be when the war actually starts. I vote he stays with Artemis and her hunt for the time being, in order to compromise between his wishes and what will be best in preparation for the war. All who agree?" There was another unanimous agreement between the council, "In that case, I call this council meeting to a close. And Perseus, welcome back." Zeus left in a flash of light along with all of the gods except for Poseidon, Artemis and strangely Hephaestus. They all got off their thrones and shrunk down to their respective human sizes. "If it isn't too much of a problem for you two, I would like to borrow the lad for a few moments, a certain way to say sorry for the trouble I've caused." Hephaestus said.

"I've waited nearly a decade to talk to my son again, I can wait a few more hours. Call me when you have time Perseus." Poseidon said, leaving in a sea breeze.

"Make sure to bring him to my hunt when you're done." Hephaestus grunted in response and Artemis flashed away. Without saying a word Hephaestus teleported them away to what Perseus could assume was one of his forges, "Now lad, let's see your armory." Percy pulled his spear, Riptide, and his two throwing knives out and placed them on a nearby table. Upon seeing the knives, the forge god let out a long whistle, "Fine craftsmanship on these here my boy. I must say: I'm impressed." Hephaestus looked over his weapons once more and noticed something, "No shield?"

"I never was able to find something strong enough to make one out of." Percy responded sheepishly. "That's completely fine, I have an idea for what I could make for you, but I would need to look through your memories first." Percy nodded his head and Hephaestus placed a hand on his shoulder and started chanting in the language of the ancients. When he was done he had a faraway look in his eyes as Hephaestus looked through his memories of Perseus, from his first quest all the way to the throne room meeting. When he finished the god of the forge had a solemn expression on his face, "You've had a hard life my boy, harder than any I've seen, and you have my respect for that. If you need a forge, you're more than welcome to use any of mine. Now, go make yourself comfortable in the room over there while I work on this shield for you. The bathroom is down on the left and there's mortal and Hephaestus TV channels on the televison." Percy nodded in thanks and away.

-0-

Hunter's Camp, Third POV

The hunters had been playing fetch with Zoë, using tennis balls from the backpack Zoë had retrieved from somewhere, they assumed it was Percy's bag but who knew with this wolf. Zoë had just come back with the ball when Artemis flashed in, the first thing Thalia noticed was the lack of her cousin. "Milady, where Percy? Did Kelp Head get himself killed already?" Thalia said, only slightly joking. Artemis just sighed in response, this was going to take a long time to explain, "Gather around the fire, my hunters, I shall tell you the events of the meeting."

-0-

Hephaestus' Forge

Percy had been watching the mortal news channel for the past few hours, it may sound boring to anyone else, but to Perseus - who had been missed out on the last decade of events in the world - it was the greatest thing ever. Hephaestus walked into the room where Perseus had been sitting, a somber expression still plastered across his face. "Come now lad, you probably want to see the final product." Percy quickly got up, obviously excited as to what the forge god could have made him, he guessed it was a shield but who knew with the Olympians.

"I apologize for the wait, I know you got places to be, but I wanted to make this extra special." Percy was shocked at the sincerness in his voice, he remembered Hephaestus to be a grumpy, impassive god. "I had only created something like this once before: The Shied of Achilles. I found the visage to be appropriate for this occasion." At Percy's confused expression he continued, "Achilles at the start of the war was excited for battle, but as the war progressed and blood was shed, he started longing for a life of peace. He was already planning on leaving the war before he did, Aggamemnon was just an excuse. It was mainly why I had put scenes of peace on his shield, but to respect his skill as a warrior, Thetis asked me to include some more violent aspects.

"Your shield will be a little different than his; instead of images of life outside the war, I decided to put what you are fighting for." Hephaestus pulled back the tarp that had covered what he called 'The Shield of Perseus' and took pride in the gasp that came from the young demigod. The shield was made of a mix of Celestial Bronze, Imperial Gold, and Adamantine, it had hundreds of images on the face, from his time in the Yellowstone to present day; all of them in jaw dropping detail. He ran his hand over what depicted his time at Carkeek Park, sitting on the beach with Zoë at his side, reminiscing old times - the good times. Percy must've looked at the shield for over an hour, each image upon his shield making him more wistful for what was his life. "Thank you milord, this is a gift that I don't know if I ever could repay."

"Think nothing of it lad, think of it as compensation for what you've had to go through." Hephaestus said with a small smile, "Now. We best get you going, it's not the best idea to keep Artemis waiting, believe me on that." Percy nodded and grabbed the shield, strapping it over his back. Seeing he was ready Hephaestus flashed him away

-0-

Hunter's Camp

"-and then he left with Hephaestus, he's been with him since." Artemis had just finished telling her hunt about the council meeting, leaving not a single detail out. She looked around at the faces of her hunters, seeing varying levels of guilt in their eyes; them -like everyone else- had always thought Perseus to be infallible; unstobbable; the man with an unbreakable will; the great hero. Suddenly a bright flash of light filled the area, forcing the demigods to cover their eyes.

"Hey guys, what's everyone so upset about?" Percy said while trying to hold Zoë at bay. Thalia smiled to herself, once oblivious, always oblivious, "Nothing Perce, what did Hephaestus want?"

Percy suddenly had a look of longing in his eyes, "He forged me this shield, he calls it The Shield of Perseus, it was inspired by Achilles' shield." He said while pulling the shield off his back. Everyone gasped at the beauty of the shield, except for Thalia, who believed nothing was better than her Aeigis.

Artemis snapped the hunt out of their shock, "Hunters, it is time for bed. Persueus, we will get you better acquainted in the following morning." All of the hunters nodded and walked away from the campfire, leaving Percy alone with Artemis and Zoë. Percy scooted closer to the fire, taking in the warmth it provided while slightly leaning against Zoë for comfort. "It's okay girl," Percy said with a sigh, "we'll get through these few years, then we can go back home - where ever that may be." Percy hadn't intended for anyone to hear him, but Artemis' godly senses allowed her to pick up what he was saying easily. She got up, and walked away to her tent, leaving Perseus alone by the fire. All while mulling over his words and what he spoke during the council meeting